Disney Wonder and Disney Magic Relocate for the Summer

Yesterday the Disney Wonder arrived in Seattle to begin its summer sailings to Alaska!  This is the first time Disney Wonder has home ported in Seattle.  Here is a compilation of the news reports from Seattle.

Disney Wonder will be making 14 seven-night sailings to Alaska from Seattle this summer with stops at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada.

DCL Canada Shore Excursions Released

Disney Cruise Line® has released its shore excursions for the 5 night New England Coast and Canada sailings from New York City this summer.  Here is what you can do!

Halifax, Nova Scotia

• Disney Exclusive 2-Day Overnight VIP Cross-country Adventure
• Learn the Ropes Featuring Exclusive Youth Activity & Hop On Hop Off
• Ahoy Mates Tall Ship Silva Sailing
• Bay of Fundy Tidal Bore Rafting (Selected Sailings)
• Bay of Fundy Tides & Wines
• Big Pink Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off
• Coastal Peggy’s Cove
• Essential Halifax with Big Pin Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off
• Family Fun with Big Pink Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off
• Halifax Bike Tour
• Halifax by Private Vehicle
• Halifax City Tour
• Halifax Walking Tour
• Historic Halifax by Double Decker & Mississippi Style Stern Wheeler
• Historical Halifax Pub Tour
• Lobsters and Lighthouses
• Lunenburg – UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Nature & Whale Watching
• Peggy’s Cove & Hop On Hop Off
• Peggy’s Cove & Titanic (including Adult Only Departure)
• Peggy’s Cove Coastal Hike & City Highlights
• Peggy’s Cove, Lobster Lunch & Maple
• Red Coat for a Day – 78th Highlander & Camp of Instruction (including Observer Companion)
• Theodore Tugboat
• Top 10 Best of Halifax with Lunch
• VIP Peggy’s Cove & Lunenburg

Saint John, New Brunswick

• Garden Tea Party Featuring Exclusive Disney Character Experience
• Whale of a Time Featuring Exclusive Youth Activity
• Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography
• Bay of Fundy Scenic Railway
• Bay of Fundy Whale & Wildlife Watching
• Big Pink Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off – Saint John
• Big Pink Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off & Bay of Fundy Scenic Railway
• Coastal Kayak & Lobster Cookout
• Fundy by Land & Sea
• Hike, Bike & Paddle
• History in Stone Walking Tour
• Hopewell Rocks Tidal Discovery
• Irving Nature Park Hike & Children’s Forest
• Maple Sugar Shack & Brunch
• Moosehead Beer Tasting & City Sights
• Ride the Rapids
• Saint John by Private Vehicle
• Saint John Highlights (including Adult Only Departure)
• Saint John River Cruise
• Saint John Rocks!
• St. Martins & the Bay of Fundy (including Adult Only Departure)
• Taste of Saint John – Gourmet Lunch & Wine Tasting
• Trolley ‘Round Saint John (including Adult Only Departure)
• Wild Blueberry Tour & Tasting

Check these out for your upcoming Canada sailing with Disney Cruise Line.

 

Where Do You Want to Cruise?

For those not familiar with cruising, you may think that cruises only go to the Caribbean or the Mexican Riviera.  Most probably realize that ships also go to Alaska and the Mediterranean.  But where else can you go on a cruise?  Just about anywhere!

The most popular cruising destinations are the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska.  But there are so many more places to cruise.  The Bahamas and Caribbean cover a wide area with the Bahamian islands down to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, to the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands and Netherlands Antilles to the east and South.  To the West there is Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and even the Panama Canal.  Caribbean Cruises operate year-round, but fewer companies offer these sailing in the summer months.  Panama Canal sailings can be a half transit (roundtrip sailing) or a full transit (repositioning sailing).

Shore Excursions

So we’ve gone over the five ports that we will be stopping at on our cruise on the Caribbean Princess.  Now it’s time for us to decide what we will be doing and how we will be booking these tours.

In each port of call, there is almost always shore excursions offered by the cruise line.  In general, these excursions cost a bit more than setting them up independently.  This is because the cruise line wants to make money at the excursion as well.  So why would you book with the cruise line?  There are a couple reasons.

And Finally, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Our last port of call on the Caribbean Princess will be Halifax, Nova Scotia.  This 250 year old province capital has a population of over 400,000 at last count.  This is the largest center of population on the Atlantic coast of Canada and east of Quebec City.    Though this is quite a large municipality, you shouldn’t be intimidated visiting Halifax.  The harbor area has shaped Nova Scotia’s rich history.

Saint John, New Brunswick

Our fourth port of call will be taking us into Canada.  This also will be the second stop on the Disney Magic sailings next summer (all but for the September 12 sailing where it will be the first stop).  If you are cruising to Saint John next year and have things you want us to check out, let us know! 

Today’s blog is from one of our readers, Lyn Smith.  Lyn has traveled to Saint John many times and has some advice for us as to what to do and see.  Thanks Lyn!

Saint John is a very walkable city. I have spent the day quite happily walking the city. The streets that are perpendicular to the water are kind of steep, but manageable. You can go from the Harbor Market Square (library, museum, restaurants) to Brunswick Square (multi level mall of stores) to the historic City Market (food stalls, farmer’s market) through a series of escalators and covered walkways.

It is an interesting small city.  Not as amazing as Boston.  Not as touristy as Bar Harbor.  It reminds me a lot of Portland, Maine.   It is an industrial city. Headquarters of Irving Oil.  Like most industrial cities, it had seen better times.

We’re Going On A Cruise!

A couple weeks ago we asked for your help in choosing a cruise for this fall.  Thanks to your input, we made a decision and booked a cruise!  We will be sailing on the Caribbean Princess on October 1 out of New York City to New England and Canada.  We are so excited and I have decided to take you with us on our planning and cruise.  Though I have taken classes on Princess and feel I know a lot about Princess Cruises, there is much to learn so I want to share that with all of you.  Over the next couple of months, we’ll take you through our decision, booking and research and finish up with the cruise itself.